Strength Training

Strength training is the king of exercise

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Once considered exotic, marginal or even harmful, strength training is now the king of   exercise. Beginners can sometimes be confused, because this type of activity bears several other names such as resistance training, weight training or weight bearing exercise. Well, whenever you lift barbells, dumbbells, heavy rocks or sandbags; perform push-ups, dips or squats; stretch rubber bands or springs; use an exercise machine - you are doing strength training a.k.a. resistance training, a.k.a.... etc.
    After five decades of controversies, opponents of strength training disappeared, while the number of its expert-advocates quickly grows. All of them agree upon one thing: this physical activity does not benefit exclusively muscles.
   The list of other benefits becomes longer and longer almost every day thanks to advanced scientific research. Now we know that strength training - among others - improves bone density, helps to control cholesterol and blood sugar levels, prevents or slows down the most common signs of aging. Practiced by older people it quickly increases sense of balance, coordination of bodily movements and even cognitive abilities.
    Although we do not believe that one good exercise can be superior over another good exercise, we are ready to agree that strength training is more universal than other forms of exercise. After all, our ancestors were using muscles to survive, not to walk from their houses to their garages.

Why Should You Lift Weights?

Look at this list of the benefits you'll gain by adding weight lifting exercises to your schedule:

        Easier weight loss or weight maintenance

         Leaner, stronger body

         Improved appearance

        Better posture

        Lower blood pressure

        Increased resting metabolism rate

        Improved balance and coordination

        Stronger bones, and protection against osteoporosis

In simple terms, this means you will look better and feel stronger. And if you need to lose weight, strength training is very helpful. Low calorie diets decrease your metabolism and put you on the yo-yo dieting roller-coaster. On the other hand, when you combine a healthy but not too restrictive eating with simple strength training you will keep your metabolism level high. You will be more likely to lose weight fast - and keep it off for good.

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN

Many women - if not most of them - have wrong ideas about strength training based on lifting weights or using resistance machines. Here is a list of the most popular misconceptions followed by facts:
They think: Weight training is for men.
Truth: Strength training by women is the fastest growing fitness trend in many countries of the world. Women are more and more aware that lean muscle helps them lose weight, prevent the onset of osteoporosis, lower high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
They think: Weight lifting causes women to bulk up.
Truth: Bulking up is caused by male hormones. Women have only 3 -10 percent of the hormones that let men build big muscle.
They think: Strength training will make me gain weight, since muscle weighs more than fat.
Truth: Studies of thousands of women have found that the average woman who trains just two to three times a week for eight weeks gains 1.75 pounds of lean muscle weight, but loses 3.5 pounds of fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so the well-toned woman who does weight training regularly will not only lose weight but also inches.
They think: I run and take aerobic classes, so I don't need strength training.
Truth: A complete fitness regimen - both for men and women - should include cardiovascular exercise, strength training and stretching.
They Think: Cardiovascular exercise is the best way to lose weight, because it makes me sweat.
Truth: Cardiovascular exercise provides great benefits to your heart and circulatory system, and helps you to lose weight. On the other hand, lean muscle mass - developed by strength training - significantly increases an individual's ability to burn calories. By retaining more muscle tissue, woman can maintain higher metabolic rates and lose weight faster.
They think: I'll hurt myself trying to do weight training.
Truth: You might injure yourself if you use heavy weights but it is highly unlikely that you will hurt yourself if you are careful. In fact, strength training will condition you so that you are less likely to injure yourself when you participate in other sports.
They think: I'm too old to lift weights.
Truth: Strength training is ideal for women at any age. It is especially beneficial for post-menopausal women, who begin to lose bone density very rapidly, which leads to osteoporosis. Strength training increases bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

SHOULD KIDS LIFT WEIGHTS?

    It is important to know that strength training programs carry certain risks for children. Heavy stress placed on still-growing bones and muscles can distort bone and ligament development. Many experts discourage resistance training for kids under the age of 12. They are usually not physically and mentally disciplined enough to avoid hurting themselves.
   If your child is willing to participate in some form of strength training - perhaps to be like an older sibling, family member or sports idol - then at least make sure he or she is properly supervised, and that the progression is very slow.
   There is a "10 percent" rule for adults, which says that you should never increase the weight, duration, or intensity of an exercise by more than 10 percent at a time. Kids should progress even more slowly than that. In addition, it is important to include flexibility exercises, before and after the session, to prevent possible shortening of their muscles.
   According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, low-stress resistance training exercises can be a good thing for children, but once again, supervision and instruction is paramount. When properly done, resistance training has a positive effect on muscle tone, fosters positive changes in musculature development, and helps kids feel good about themselves and their abilities.

The Best Abdominal Exercises Are The Simple Ones

It comes with great satisfaction to Fitness Classic that scientists indicated simple abdominal exercises as the best ones. Researchers from San Diego State University, led by Dr. Peter Francis, used electromyography and a carefully designed program to find out that bicycle maneuver and captain's chair techniques were the best stimulators of abdominal muscles.
To put it in a rather simplified form: the first exercise is moving - in supine position - the bent knee to the elbow of the opposite arm, while hands are beside your head; the second one is performed by raising bent knees to chest while your body is suspended above the floor. Of the many devices examined only the simple exercise ball occurred to be a top stimulator of the abdominal musculature.
Manufactures of fitness equipment continue flooding the market with more and more stomach exercise contraptions. Now you know that all that gadgetry has little advantage over exercises using only the weight of your own body.

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